US asks South Korea more of the cost of keeping US troops in the country

(April 22) US has for months been demanding that South Korea pay a huge percentage of the cost of keeping US troops in the country. However, the issue still remains unresolved.

Trump rejects South Korean offer

Trump reported that South Korea had offered a certain amount of money but he rejected it. Trump did not specify how much South Korea had offered nor did he say how many billions the US was asking for at this point.South Korea was already paying one of the largest percentages in cost-sharing of any country but the US has kept raising its demands with the result that South Korea has so far been unwilling to agree to US terms. It seems to some that the US is going out of its way not to make a deal.

US officials are reported to have said to Reuters earlier this month that South Korea had offered a 13 percent increase from the present arrangements but that the offer was rejected.

Trump said: "We're defending a wonderful nation. We're asking them to pay for a big percentage of what we're doing. It's not fair. ... It's a question of will they contribute toward the defence of their own nation. We're doing a tremendous service. We have a wonderful feeling and a wonderful relationship with each other, but we have to be treated equitably and fairly."

Trump said that Seoul was at present paying about a billion dollars per year towards the cost of keeping between 28,000 and 32,000 US troops in the country.

US may be considering troop cuts in South Korea

South Korean press reports claim that the US is considering various proposals to reduce troop numbers in South Korea. This would be due to the COVID-19 pandemic but also because the US is not going to get the payments they want to keep troops there.

A spokesperson for US Forces Korea told a representative of the Voice of America that they are not aware of any discussions of a US troop drawdown in South Korea.

There are regular rumors of US plans to withdraw troops from Korea. Last year when Trump was asked about withdrawing troops from Korea he said: “No, no, and we haven’t been asked to. Now, I have to tell you, at some point in the future, I would like to save the money. You know, we have 32,000 troops there.”

The US has numerous bases spread throughout the world. Upkeep costs US taxpayers $156 billion per year. As election fever heats up Trump could be considering the merits of saving the US taxpayer some money and forcing countries where the US has troops to pay more of upkeep costs. The US is apparently planning to ask Germany and Japan for more money as well but these plans may be put on hold as US demands are not going over at all well in South Korea.

If the US is too demanding the US may be forced to withdraw troops with the result that countries may demand that they pay even less. The US troop costs will loom large in South Korean elections and it may be that South Koreans will demand that at least some troops be withdrawn so that there is less of a burden on the South Korean taxpayer.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Trump said to be considering withdrawing 4,000 troops from South Korea

(November 21 2019) The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo quotes an anonymous US diplomatic source as saying that Trump is considering the withdrawal of 4,000 US troops from the South.

The source said that Trump is considering even withdrawing all US troops if South Korea does not agree to the massive increase in cost-sharing payments he is demanding.

As a Reuters article notes: "The report came two days after the United States broke off defense cost talks after demanding that South Korea raise its annual contribution for maintaining the U.S. contingent to $5 billion, a South Korean official said, more than five times what it pays now, in rare discord in the alliance." The break off is discussed in a recent Digital Journal article.

Some South Korean officials see the reports about US withdrawal as a bluff used as a negotiating tactic by the US.

Pentagon denies it is considering any troop withdrawal

A Pentagon spokesperson, Jonathan Hoffman, said: “There is absolutely no truth to the Chosun Ilbo report that the U.S. Department of Defense is currently considering removing any troops from the Korean Peninsula."

The US Defense Secretary Mark Esper also said earlier that he was not away of any plans to withdraw troops from the South if c cost-sharing talks fail. Stephen Biegun the US special representative to North Korea also said that he wants US troops to stay in the South but that no one gets a free ride.

US may still push for $4.7 billion annual payment

The US looks to be still staying with the $4.7 billion demand at least as a starting point for negotiations. However, the South Koreans may not be willing to settle for anything near that amount. The present payment is already a considerable increase on what they paid before which in turn was already a substantial amount.

South Korea and China sign defense deal

As a recent article notes China and South Korea just recently signed a defense pact: "The defence ministers of South Korea and China have agreed to develop their security ties to ensure stability in north-east Asia, the latest indication that Washington’s long-standing alliances in the region are fraying...Seoul’s announcement coincided with growing resentment at the $5 billion (£3.9bn) annual fee that Washington is demanding to keep 28,500 US troops in South Korea."

Trump often uses brinkmanship and threats in negotiations. The result in this case may be disastrous for US interests but could encourage the South to improve relationships with the North in order to avoid the exorbitant costs of relying on the US to defend it from any incursion from the North.

Previously published in the Digital Journal